Man enters plea in killing of Iraqi immigrant wife

Kassim Alhimidi, left, who is accused of killing his wife, made his appearance via video with his attorney, public defender Armando Salazar, right, representing him, and a translator, center.
— John Gibbins

Kassim Alhimidi, left, who is accused of killing his wife, made his appearance via video with his attorney, public defender Armando Salazar, right, representing him, and a translator, center.
— John Gibbins

Kassim Alhimidi, 48, was arrested Thursday and charged in the killing of his wife, Shaima Alawadi, in the house they rented on Skyview Street. At a hearing in El Cajon Superior Court, Judge Herbert Exarhos ordered the father of five be held without bail.

Prosecutor Kurt Mechals initially wanted $5 million bail but asked Exarhos to require that Alhimidi surrender his passport if he ever posted bail. Exarhos then noted that state law allows setting no bail if there is a risk the person could flee, and then ordered Alhimidi held.

Numerous members of the Iraqi immigrant community showed up at the hearing, but only one spoke to reporters. Qusim Alasady, a neighbor, said that he attended to show support for both families.

He described Alhimidi as a “cool guy” and good neighbor. He did not know of any problems between the couple.

Outside of court, Mechals declined to provide more details on the motive behind the killing, saying more details would be revealed at a preliminary hearing later.

The brutal killing — Alawadi was struck a half-dozen times on the head and had four skull fractures — was first portrayed as a possible hate crime by members of the family.

El Cajon police said last week that the investigation and the arrest of the husband showed the crime was rooted in domestic violence — not hate against Iraqis or Muslims.

Alawadi was attacked when her husband had reportedly left to take four of their children to school. The hate crime angle was fueled by a note found near her body that called the family terrorists.

But the note turned out to be a copy, not an original, casting doubt on the hate crime allegation. A sheaf of court records — and comments from family members in the days after the slaying — showed the family was dealing with several upheavals.

Alawadi was planning to divorce her husband and move with her children to Texas. A teenage daughter, Fatima Alhimidi, also was upset about a pending arranged marriage to a cousin. Five months earlier, she was hospitalized after jumping from her mother’s moving car.